North Korea will be the focus of this year's United Nations Day program at Norwalk Community College (NCC) at 11:30 a.m., on Thursday, October 19th. Co-sponsored by the United Nations Association of Southwestern Connecticut (UNASWCT) and the Norwalk Community College Model UN Club and Peace Club, the event will take place in the GenRe Forum on the East Campus, 188 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, CT.

The history and culture of North Korea and its leaders, the roles of the United Nations Secretary-General and Security Council and possible approaches to resolving the current crisis will be explored.

Congressman Jim Himes will open the program, followed by Dr. Thomas Ward, Dean of the University of Bridgeport’s College of Public and International Affairs, and Dr. Sonja Bachmann, Team Leader, Northeast Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Department of Political Affairs.

Jim Himes represents Connecticut’s 4th District in the United States House of Representatives where he is serving his fifth term. He is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, serves as the ranking member of the NSA and Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and is Chair of the New Democrat Coalition.

Dr. Ward teaches graduate courses in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and in East Asian Political and Economic Integration. In May 1992, he joined a delegation of former members of Congress and former senior federal government officials who visited Pyongyang. This gesture contributed to North Korea’s making the unprecedented decision not to hold its annual “anti-American month” for the first time since the end of the Korean War.

Dr. Sonja Bachmann has worked for over 17 years in the United Nations Department of Political Affairs and in the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations. She served in Kandahar, Afghanistan for four years supporting elections, the rule of law and women's participation, as well as with the UN Pacific Office of the United Nations Development Program. Ms. Bachmann also supported the Nepal peace process, which included the integration of Maoist combatants and work on constitutional reform. She has served as Senior Adviser on the Cyprus negotiations. Previous to joining the United Nations, Ms. Bachmann worked for the World Bank on community driven development and on sustainable tourism in Peru. She holds a Master in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Massachusetts, and a PhD in political science from the University of Vienna, Austria.

The primary goal of the UN Association of Southwestern CT is to promote an informed understanding of the United Nations and the value of international approaches to solving global problems.
In observance of United Nations Day -- the anniversary of the UN’s founding on October 24, 1945 -- the flags of United Nations Member States will fly on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Memorial Bridge in Westport, on October 24. That same day, a UN Day ceremony will take place in Westport, in front of Town Hall, at 3:30 P.M. All are invited.